Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1887-01-23
WASHINGTON LETTER.
IFiom al Occasional Correspondent. !

There arc ten books in the Sc
cret archives of the United States
Patent Office for which attorneys
IN Washington would be willing to
give 100000. They are the books
containing the names and addresses
of inventors whose cases have been
rejected during the past ten years
There has been an average Of q,
900 cases filed in the Patent Office
every year for the last ten years
and a yearly average of $4,000 pat
ents granted. Last year there were
30 eco applications filed and u 900
| patents issued, the largest mum Der
IN any one year. Ga this showing
something like 60 per cent. of the
applications have been patented.
So there have been during the last
ten years about 100000 rejected
cases. These in part include cascs
defeated in interferences and APP
plicatlons allowed, bat en- which
final fees have not been paid.
Now good attorneys get fully 90
per cent. of their cases allowed and
patented; hence there must be
some reason for only 60 per cent. of
the applications being allowed.
The reason is this: Fully 5000 in
ventors every year make out their
own cases and try to get them
through the Patent Office. Not
knowing the routine they almost
Invariably get involved in the
meshes Of red tape and the intrica-
cies of Patent Office procedure
The difficulty may be slight,
mere informality, defective draw
ing, an improperly worded applica-
ton, an indefinite specification, or
slight interference requiring
few amendments which a skillful
patent attorney could make in half
an hour. But to the inventor
these prove an insurmountable OBJ
stacle; his application is rejected
and he gives up in disgust or de-
spair
Applications for patents in the
United States Patent Offics go first
to the twenty-eight principal ex-
aniners, according to the subject |
matter If they are rejected, two
years are allowed in which to amend
them or take other necessary ac-
ton. lf no action shall have been !
taken at the end. Of two years, such J
cases are treated as abandoned, and |
are sent to the division where they |
are entered in the books which the |
Patent ATTORNEYS Sc much cevct. |
Fully 10000 of the rejected cases
of the last ten years fall under
these conditions. At a low esti-
mate %, 900 Of these rejected cases
put in the hands Of a ompetent at
torney, could be patented. A pat
ent attorneys fees on such condi- |
tional cases would be about $25 per
Casa gross sNm of 1928 900. |
Count cut disgusted inventors and |
those not able to pay, still an enor-
nous number would get out patents
if they knew how. But the iron
BILE is just here, no one outside the
Patent Office is allowed access to
those file books And without
them they cannot learn the name
and address of inventors. Then
again, there are some 1000 cases
now lying in the Examiners rooms
awaiting the two years limit.
These are still more valuable, for if
they are taken up before the time
limit expires. the initial fees do not
lapse, while in the other cases they
would have to be repaid.
The practice in the United States
Patent Office was not always thus
During Grants first term, for a
period Of about a year, attorneys
were allowed access to all letter
books. and previous to that had /
been allowed access to the files Of
abandoned cases, but there was a
constant scramble and not infrc-
quentiy downright fights over
them, aud about 1879 the Patent
Office made them secret.